Flying
by spacecadet1922
Summary: TM AU fluff... Tony hates flying


_So, it's been a while. And I've been ridiculously busy. But I started this a long time ago and just finished it. I might continue, I'm not sure yet. Let me know what you think. _

Tony hated flying- absolutely hated it. He hated the lines at the airport, he hated checking bags, he hated the smell of the seats and the pathetic excuses for food. He hated flying.

He glanced at his ticket and then at the number above the row. 41B. Damn. He hated middle seats. He looked down at the seat that was to be his home for the next five hours that would feel like at least twelve and was disappointed to see that the seats on either side of him were already occupied.

After putting his small black bag in the overhead compartment, he squeezed past the middle-aged woman already asleep in the aisle seat and sat down. The business suit-wearing man in the window seat immediately turned and smiled at Tony.

"Hi. David Hawthorne," said the man, shaking Tony's hand.

"Tony Almeida," he replied, inwardly wishing that this would be a silent flight.

"So," David said cheerfully. "Starting or ending a trip, Tony?"

"Going home, you?"

"Leaving," David replied jovially. "Taking some much needed vacation time. So you're from Seattle?"

Tony shook his head. "I'm originally from Chicago, but I lived in LA for a long time. I live in Snohomish now. It's a little town outside of Everett, which is a little town outside of Seattle. What about you?"

"I've lived in the DC area my entire life- Crystal City, Dulles, right now it's Baltimore. I'm an investment banker, by the way."

Tony nodded. "My wife and I own and run a private security firm."

"You're married?"

Again, Tony nodded. He thought for a moment about whether or not to elaborate, and then pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. "This is my wife, Michelle," he said pointing to the picture he was holding, "and these are our kids, Cameron, Megan, and Allison. And there are two more on the way- baby girls due in January." Tony shut his wallet and smiled, noticing the strange look in David's eyes.

"I never had any brothers or sisters," he said. "And I didn't meet my dad until I was fifteen. I always wished I had a family like that."

Tony paused, but continued to talk; he didn't mind talking about his favorite subject. He opened his wallet again. "Cam is eight. He's in the third grade, and he's a nerd in the making. He already loves to read and loves science and math." Tony laughed a little. "The other day, he fell and cut himself, but he wouldn't let his mom put a band aid on him until he had put some blood on a microscope slide."

"What does he want to be when he grows up?" David asked, probably just making conversation.

"A scientist. He doesn't know what type- it changes all the time." Tony pointed to the next little girl in the picture. "Megan is six and in first grade and wants to be a princess ballerina figure skater painter actress, and Ally is three. She wants to be Robin Hood and Darth Vader and thinks Barbie is stupid." Tony couldn't help but smile.

"What are you going to name your twins?" David asked.

Tony laughed. "No idea. My niece is campaigning for Thing 1 and Thing 2 though. But we don't want any rhyming or alliterative names."

"I know what you mean. A guy I work with has twins, and they named them Kara and Tara, and they can't ever keep them straight."

They continued to converse for most of the flight- not always about Tony's family, but about their jobs, their favorite sports teams, cars, movies, and a plethora of other random topics. The woman next to them never woke up. Tony was actually surprised at how okay the flight was. He wouldn't go so far as to call it enjoyable, but it was definitely okay.

It was just after nine thirty when Tony paid the cab driver and walked up to the front door, pulling his black suitcase behind him. Slowly, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Daddy!" he heard from the stairs as Allison came running full speed into him.

"Hey baby," he said lifting her up to hug her. Cameron approached just as he set Allison down. "Hey dude."

"I got a hundred on my spelling test yesterday," Cameron said, smiling proudly.

Tony hugged his son. "Good job!"

"Where's your mom?" Tony began to say, just as he saw Michelle turn the corner from the kitchen. "Hey…"

Michelle smiled. "How was your flight?" Upon her reaching him, Tony put his arms around Michelle despite the separation created by her belly.

Just as they were kissing, a loud "eeew" came from beneath them. Tony pulled away from Michelle and glared at Cameron.

"You know what?" Michelle said, turning from Tony to Cameron. "You're up past your bedtime!"

"Mom!" Cameron whined. He turned to Tony, pleading with his eyes.

Tony shook his head. "Scoot."

Cameron sighed melodramatically before heading toward the stairs. Just then, Tony noticed Allison watching from the couch. "You too, little girl."

"I don't want to!" she said loudly.

"Sssh," Michelle said, putting a finger to her lips. "Remember? Megan's already asleep." Allison continued to pout. "You see if you can sneak in really quietly, then Daddy will come up and tuck you in, okay?"

"Will you read me the airplane book?"

Tony nodded. "But only if you hurry."

As Allison scurried off, Tony kissed Michelle again, this time feeling one of the babies kick as he leaned against her. "I told them that they could stay up and wait for you as long as they went to bed right afterwards, but Megan fell asleep on the couch before 9," Michelle said as they broke apart.

"You didn't try to carry her, did you?" Tony said worriedly.

Michelle rolled her eyes. "I can hardly walk up those stairs. Do you really think I'd carry a five-year-old? I woke her up and just kind of pushed her along."

Before long, a three-year old in purple pajamas appeared at the top of the stairs. "Daddy, when are you coming to read to me?" she whined impatiently.

Tony loved bedtime with his children- absolutely loved it. He loved tucking them in, he loved reading them stories, he loved kissing them goodnight. He loved being a dad.

And if an airplane got him from a conference in DC to his family at least a good 30 hours faster than a car would, then maybe flying wasn't so bad.


End file.
